How to shoot yourself in the foot. I doubt anyone heard of or cared about this band until they were arrested.

Putin should remember the more you squeeze, the more they slip through your fingers.

Pop quiz: what do most dictators end up on the end of?

A banker, a Daily Mail reader and a benefit claimant are sitting at a table sharing 12 biscuits. The banker takes 11 and says to the Daily Mail reader: â€œWatch out for the benefit claimant, he wants your biscuitâ€.

I was trying to work out what the equivalent British offence would be.

I suppose if you interrupted St Paul's with a punk recitation, you might expect to be arrested. The punishment would be likely to be a minimal one of "bound over to keep the peace". Difficult to see any British chess figures being carried away by the Police.

Kasparov has the courage of his convictions. He has consistently opposed Putin. He takes a principled stand. Even though his political movement never got off the ground, he demonstrates by personal involvement that he seeks a better, more democratic Russia. His arrest helped to draw more international attention to the issue of freedom of speech. I spoke with a poliitcal attache from the Russian embassy in London t who told me in no uncertain terms that Kasparov was misguided. It seems that he is a thorn in their side but they dare not make an example of him as they have of the political artists. Ironically, the Russian lasting legacy to chess may be to have locked up the greatest chess player who ever lived.